Guardianship
by avearia
Summary: Sir Jerel and Lord Raoul talk about why he took Kel as his squire, and what it means to be a guardian. Oneshot, friendship fic.


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Guardianship--Tortall

Sir Jerel and Lord Raoul talk about why he took Kel as his squire, and what it means to be a guardian. (Oneshot, friendship fic.)

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Hiya! Thanks for coming to read my story. It's my first for this fandom, so I hope I didn't pull an epic fail here. It's supposed to be a 'familial moment' by Raoul towards Kel.

Please note that this takes place in the third book of 'the Protector of the Small' series, in SQUIRE. More specifically, between chapters six and seven of the said book.

However, I attempted to design this so that if you don't know exactly where I'm talking about, you can read and still not lose any of the impact. I won't make you go back and read everything just to get the point. Heck, as long as you know what happens in the third book, or even if you only vaguely know the characters and what happens to them, this should (hopefully) be clear enough to understand.

Also, I assert my opinion that Garvey's knight master, sir Jerel of Nenan, is younger than Raoul of Goldenlake (Kel's knight master). This is an authoress's writing liberty and if it is stated anywhere in the book that this assumption is false, please correct me.

This is my first attempt at any fanwork from a book. I nod to Tamora Pierce, Tortall's creator, for being my first series that got me into fantasy and I hope tht this can stand as a form of tribute to my favorite author.

Constructive critisizm is welcome and encouraged.

7 pages long in WORD.

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Note!: I don't own anything in the Protector of the Small books. This is fanfiction, purely entertainment, and I make no money off of it. Though, I vaguely wish I did, because then I could go around and tell people that I met my favorite Authoress, Tamora Pierce, when she sued me in court! Haha…

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Guardianship

Sir Jerel of Nenan had always been of a good sort. Even so, Raoul of Goldenlake found himself startled and confused when he was visited by the younger Knight just a day after Raoul had invited the Knight and his squire Garvey to teach Kel to joust.

Well, actually, part of Raoul's jumbled reaction was due to him being ALREADY flustered. Domitan of Queenscove, who was under Raoul's charge as part of the third company that Raoul commanded, had thought it funny to forge a "letter from his mother", stating that she'd found sixteen eligible women for him and that he was to come home immediately to choose between them. Raoul had yelped, dropped his drink, **spilt a bottle of ink while trying to clean up the drink**, and slipped on the mess soon afterward, toppling things over and generally making a heap of mess.

Only later had he noticed the note on the back of the letter that read 'Ha ha, please excuse the joke. She only found fifteen girls, not sixteen. Sincerely, Dom'.

Whatever the case may have been, Raoul still wasn't in the best of moods when Jerel knocked, and unwittingly tried to stand and let him in. Instead of succeeding, the giantkiller slipped again on the pool of spilled liquid, tipping his chair over. It crashed to the floor.

"Uh, is everything okay in there?" Jerel timidly opened the door to the other knight's study to see what was the problem. Once he spotted Raoul on the ground, surrounded by the fruits of his accident, the man immediately came in, flustered and offering aid.

"I'm fine," Raoul assured him as he sat up with a groan. He then contradicted his own statement when his hand slipped on the spilled ink and drink, and he fell back down.

Jerel helped him up while staying away from the slippery mess. "I'm sorry for intruding," he appologized, as Raoul wrung the edge of his tunic out. Black drops got squeezed out onto the floor, but it was obvious that the shirt, tunic, and britches were completely ruined.

Raoul ducked into his closet for a change of clothes, peeling off the tunic and shirt. "I can't say I didn't want the help," he admitted, taking a moment to rub his skin. The liquid felt sticky on it. "What brings you into my neck of the woods?" he asked instead of explaining his clumsiness to his guest.

As Raoul pulled on new clothes, Jerel talked to the closed door. "Oh, nothing really. Well, something. It's just… is this a bad time?" he asked finally.

Raoul pulled on a clean shirt, taking a silence as he laced it up. After thinking, he explained, "My dear friend Domitan just decided to play a prank on me, and I believe I let my shock get a tad out of hand," he told his guest. "This is nothing to worry about."

"What I mean is, I was hoping to have a word with you." Jerel's response made Raoul stop again and consider his words.

"About what?" he inquired. The tall man bent, shuffling through different tunics. He finally found one who's color matched the previous one… maybe no one would notice he'd changed. Then, he wouldn't have to explain WHY he had changed; his 'forged letter' mishap. Putting it on, he finally exited the room with a fresh pair of leggings and boots.

"About yesterday."

"About Kel, you mean." Raoul filled in the blanks as he pulled on the leggings.

Jerel seemed slightly embarassed. "Actually, it's about **my **squire, not yours."

This had to be the only thing that startled Raoul. He stopped what he was doing, looking up into the other knight's eyes. "Your squire?" he repeated.

Later, Raoul would wonder why he hadn't seen this coming. The previous day, Raoul had hoped for a change of pace in Keladry's training; He'd been teaching the girl to joust for three weeks now, and it occurred to him that it might do the girl good to fight some opponents that weren't as infamously good at tilting—if the girl fought Raoul all the time, she might never get a chance to see how NORMAL knights jousted. Their styles, techniques, or just the different way they held the sheild might change the joust all together. It surprised Raoul that he hadn't thought of it before.

Naturally, the knight sought out Sir Jerel. They were friends, of a vague sort, and enjoyed tilting against one another. Usually, people avoided Raoul because he was considered 'unseatable' by many. However, every time there was a jousting tournament, Raoul always scrapped up at least ONE match against Sir Jerel. Not that Jerel ever won, of course, but still.

The man had seemed perfect for the job; Raoul knew that the younger knight was a strong enough jouster, and his style was different from Raoul's own, so it would give Kel more practice. Only, Raoul had forgotten that Jerel had a squire of his own; Garvey of Runnerspring. Instead of this complicating things, Jerel used it as an excuse to further teach his OWN squire how to joust against others.

It was settled, or so Raoul thought. Things turned slightly nasty at the tilting yard, however, when it turned out that Keladry and Garvey knew each other—not as friends, but enemies. Garvey had pulled some fancy footwork and nasty words out of the air, being generally rude and negatively disposed towards the female squire.

As Raoul had admitted, Jerel was a kind person who hardly met offence to him, or Kel. Raoul should've known that Garvey's actions might've left a mark on the younger knight.

"He isn't normally so blunt or nasty," Jerel went on, not realizing that Raoul was thinking. "I should have realized that something was up. I just wanted to apologize for his actions on the field."

Raoul paused for a moment, then began attending to his stockings again. Once he pulled them up and put on his boots, he stood and went over to the mess he'd created before Jerel came in. "To be honest, I'm not so sure you need to apologize," he admitted, kneeling. He poked at some books and paper that had fallen close or into the puddle of inky tea, wondering how much of it could be salvaged. As he pulled the mess apart, he went on. "I talked to my squire after the fact, before she faced you, and she seemed more resigned to what Garvey did than offended by it."

"That doesn't make it excusable," Jerel pointed out, crouching to help Raoul with his task. Together they separated the pile into 'saveable' and 'doomed', and Raoul fetched a rag to clean the spill up.

"Very well, it was wrong," said the older knight as he began to wipe the ground. "And if you must make an apology, I suppose I should have the decency to accept it." Once the spill was gone, he put the rag into a bowl he'd carried over, then stood to look at Jerel. "But I hope you realize that you aren't the one responsible for what he did."

"I am." Jerel corrected him. "He's my charge, and though I can't control what he does I certainly have to answer to it." Raoul felt he should protest, but the big man opened his mouth and found he didn't know what or how to say it. Chivalry had its code, after all, and knightmasters were basically second parents to their squires.

"I don't hold it against you." Raoul answered at last. "He did what he did, and I think little of it. The Gods know, how hard it is to keep a rowdy child under your control."

"Is she a handful too?" Jerel asked, eyebrows kicking up in surprise.

Raoul smirked. "Actually, I was thinking about all the childish soldiers I have to deal with in the third company," he joked. "Kel gives me no trouble at all."

There was a moment of silence as Raoul put the dish containing the soaked rag away, coming back to right the chair that had toppled over. Before he could go and re-arrange the books he and Jerel had salvaged, the other knight said something that startled him.

"Liar."

"Huh?" Raoul looked up from the books, confused.

Jerel seemed hesitant to speak, his eyes not meeting Raoul's. "I said you're lying. Everyone knows that your squire brings you plenty of trouble. Not that it's her fault that she's a girl, or that everyone in the realm seems to disapprove of fighting females, but the truth is that, she IS a girl, and many people give you a hard time over it."

Raoul stopped, unsure of what to say. What Jerel said was true; Kel was not exactly a good luck charm, or a way to win over other nobles. "She's as peaceful and undemanding as the sparrows she feeds," he said at last, grabbing up papers that had been ruined in his earlier mess. "I can't complain about what other people think of her. Let them think what they think, it doesn't matter because they're wrong and we know it."

An uncomfortable break in conversation stretched between the two knights, and Jerel sighed, knowing he'd caused it. After what seemed like forever, he spoke up. "Why her?" he asked. "Why did you pick her?"

"Because, she's a Squire who had spent years with the Yamanis, and it will come in handy during the progress when we have to work closely with their people. She's an excellent fighter and a budding commander, dilligent and hard working…"

"Yes, but," Jerel began when Raoul trailed off. "But why did you **pick** her?"

"Because…" Raoul trailed off, still holding the ruined papers in his hand, thinking.

"Because she deserves to succeed."

The two exchanged a look, both of them seeming surprised at Raoul's own words. The burly man went on, looking away. "Because she deserves to be a lady knight. Because I know she can be. Because I know that all she needs is a chance—to prove herself, to learn. Because I can help, and because… because I care."

Another silence streched, where neither of them moved. Each of them still felt the words ringing in the air, and it occurred to Raoul that Jerel had wanted to ask that question for a long time. It must've cost him a lot to ask.

A sound broke them out of their apparent trance. They heard the door close in the adjacent room, and Raoul rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the strange and uncomfortable self-awareness he was feeling. "Seems Kel's back from weapons' practice," he commented, tossing the ruined papers he held into the nearby wastebasket. "…To feed the griffin."

"Right—that wild immortal she picked up." Jerel said, glad the conversation was moving again.

"She seems as prone to picking up things to care for as I am," Raoul commented, beginning to place the fallen books from earlier into their rightful places. "The griffin, Peachblossom, the Sparrows, Jump…"

"You're saying she could host an animal orphanage, the way she's going?" Jerel tried to guess what he was thinking.

Raoul smirked. "I'm saying she already **does.**"

There was a crash from the opposite room. Both Raoul and Jerel stopped, holding their breath and listening for what may have caused the sound. Raoul guessed there was little to worry about, and was proven right when a second later, his Squire's voice erupted in a frustrated tone; "Stupid, ungodly, terrible, bloodthirsty little… hey! Put that down!" followed by another series of crashes and a few annoyed 'yaps' from Jump, her dog.

Roul couldn't surpress his smirk. "Excuse me, I believe that my Squire is having a bit of trouble with her charge," he pointed out, alluding to Kel's Griffin baby. The little monster had a habit of knocking things over and biting and/or scratching Kel to bits.

Jerel gave him a look. "Surely you aren't going to go and help her catch it, are you?" he inquired. Anyone who touched a griffin baby was putting themselves in harm's way, as the griffin's parents could detect whoever had come in contact with their offspring… they could get mean and would attack on sight. Thankfully, Raoul shook his head with a laugh, denying Jerel's statement.

"I believe that I will let her catch the griffin herself," Raoul said, an evil smile spreading across his face. "And once the commotion dies down, I shall march in, playing the part of a saintly knight, with my sympathies and a vial of healing ointment. Then, I will take my Squire down to the tilting yard for the evening after the mess is cleaned up."

"You are a bad man," Jerel shook his head. "I'm surprised that between you and that immortal, she isn't just a huge bruise covered in scratches." The man looked again towards the room as Raoul shifted through his belongings to find the said healing ointment. After another crash and a yelp from Kel's room, Jerel had to speak again. "It seems like quite a task caring for that creature, doesn't it?"

Raoul gave a snort. "That is about as mild as you can put it," he said in reply.

"I wonder why she doesn't complain about it more." Jerel commented. "I know that my squire wouldn't hesitate to whine."

The giant killer shrugged, straightening. "A job is a job, and it needs to be done. Kel knows that." Said the man with a shrug. After a second, he gave a smile. "Though I suppose that Kel also knows that guardianship comes with its own rewards. Once she's through looking after that little monster and Diane finds its parents, I'm sure… I'm sure she'll just be happy that he's able to live out in the world."

Jerel paused, then nodded. "Then I'll let you see to your squire," he said. "I'll see myself out."

Raoul flashed a mischievious grin his way, then turned to enter into his squire's study with a knock. "Keladry, dearest squire. I hear you have had troubles with your monster and wonder if you would accept my honorable help."

"Are you trying to get something out of me?" the girl's voice answered as Raoul disappeared into her room.

"Now, why would you assume that?"

"You only use that fluent speech when you're being sarcastic or when you want something." There was a pause. "I can't really tell which one it is this time, though."

Raoul let out his amused laugh, and Jerel, still in hearing range, also smiled. Quietly, and respectfully, he left the room, taking only a moment to pause and say something.

"Blessings, Raoul," he whispered. "I hope that she becomes the knight that you so want her to be."


End file.
